Musculoskeletal rehabilitation: current understandings and future directions

This work examines the current state of knowledge regarding the efficacy of rehabilitation for patients with major lower-extremity joint replacements, hip fractures, and amputations. Of particular focus is the use of inpatient rehabilitation strategies for functional restoration. These areas of rehabilitation involve common conditions in the elderly population. Cost-containment pressures have highlighted the focus on the efficacy of inpatient rehabilitation for persons with joint replacements in particular. Medicare's "75% rule" specifically limits persons with elective joint replacements from entering rehabilitation units after their surgeries. This article highlights research relevant to these issues and was written to examine the state of knowledge about these topics with the goal of highlighting areas that need more research attention.